An Instant Journey by Paul Kirps

Show & Culture

Following Time 0 and Instant Choices, this is already Paul Kirps’ third exhibition in Luxembourg dedicated to the Polaroid format. After Neumünster Abbey and the Theatergalerie in Esch, it is now taking place in Clerf, at the Cité de l’Image – a place of special personal significance to the artist. For years, Kirps has deliberately used the Polaroid as an immediate, analogue medium that requires no filters or post-processing. The iconic images, with their white borders, become windows through which time, memory and perception take on new meanings. Artists such as Andy Warhol, Lee Friedlander, Wim Wenders and, in particular, David Hockney are among his sources of inspiration. For Kirps, Clerf links personal memories with the photographic history of the place. Two years ago, he returned to create a monumental fresco at the Lycée Edward Steichen. In An Instant Journey, Kirps does not present travel souvenirs, but rather artistically reimagined observations of his surroundings. The focus is on deserted architecture, technical structures and urban elements that recur as motifs across different landscapes. Thus, the exhibition becomes less a journey through places and more a reflection on the forms and structures of our built environment.